


Run Away with me

by mementomoe



Category: Original Work
Genre: Confessions, F/F, Falling In Love, First Time, Running Away, Treat, kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-12 22:16:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13556685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mementomoe/pseuds/mementomoe





	Run Away with me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Bonster](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bonster/gifts).



Jingyi hadn’t has such a prestigious job since she came to Alfunia. The king himself decided his daughter, Princess Isabel Marie Sophia von Alfun, would be better off with a small team of mercenaries to escort her to her betrothed in Caglait. While she didn’t quite follow the servant’s reasons, one hundred ducats was nothing to ignore.

So far, it had been half a day of travel. They had left mid-day, and just getting out of the capital city of Korbach had taken more time than she would have liked.

The road afterwards had been peaceful, with talk between Jingyi and the others. The whole time, the princess had been quiet. Jingyi had the impression that she listened, even if she pretended to be disinterested.

While some would say she drew the short straw when they ended up at a way house that evening, she was quite glad she was the one sharing the room with the princess. She’d constantly watched the princess’s curls bounce as her horse trotted along.

At one point she had counted, and hadn’t noticed until she realized she had reached two-hundred and thirty-seven, instead of watching for someone who would hurt her charge.

“Would you like me to get you some food, Your Grace?” she asked after she set her bow on her bed.

“Now?” the princess asked. She had that same distant look in her eye that confused her during the ride.

She nodded her head. “If you have any preferences, I’ll try to get them.”

“If they have wine, I’ll take that over ale. The worst wine is better as far as I’m concerned. Also, could you eat with me? I doubt anyone will take me, but I’d like company.”

She had planned to. The others were pleasant to talk to during this leg of the trip, but at the same time, they had worked together for so long that they seemed to have their own language, and she felt like an extra added to round out the skills. None of them were good long-range, like she was with her bow. She had time to learn their strategies later.

It took her more time than she would have liked to get the meals. The cook hadn’t wanted the bowls to leave the floor. Jingyi promised to pay for them if she couldn’t get them back as soon as they would have liked.

The princess let her in as soon as she heard her voice.

“I don’t want to rush you, Your Grace, but I could only get two hours before I have to return the bowls. Also, unfortunately, there was only ale available.”

The princess gave a small smile. “I’ll pay for the bowls if they want that, but I don’t eat slow.” She took one of the bowls of stew from the tray in Jingyi’s hands and set it down on the desk in the room. She quickly took one of the pints of ale as well.

Jingyi decided to use the tray as a makeshift table and eat on her bed.

“I looked at your bow,” the princess said. “I hope you don’t mind. It’s a Xogeren style longbow, is it not?”

Jingyi nodded her head. From how quiet the princess was that afternoon, she had expected the same. “It’s the kind I was trained on.”

She looked over to the princess, who took a sip of the ale, and made a face of displeasure. “You’re from there, so that makes sense. Is it true they train ladies to use the bow to take care of the home? That it’s a sign of a good wife if she can shoot a target from far away?”

That wasn’t true, and she had to stop herself from the chuckle. “It’s more the care of a woman’s longbow that plays more into it. Yes, shooting a target from far away is skillful, but it’s more an art than sport. Meditation. I love the shape of my bow, and love caring for it in that artistic way, but I admit I had to learn to shoot faster than I was trained.”

“Lucky,” the princess said. “Ladies there have at least one skill they can learn that’s useful if they run away.” She paused and looked at Jingyi. “You are a lady, yes?”

Jingyi shook her head. “The truth is complicated. I’m not a lady. I never was, but I could have been.”

“And you still had something of use. I thought maybe I could explore, see all these places I read about, and write about my trips. Then I found out about my marriage. Father wouldn’t let me go anywhere before now. Especially not alone.”

“Travelling alone requires some defense skills, Your Grace.”

“Isabel,” the princess said. “Please Jingyi, call me Isabel.”

The way Isabel spoke her name made Jingyi hold her breath a second. “Bows aren’t easy, but I’ll try, Isabel. There’s others here, though. If what you’re asking is what I think it is.”

Isabel walked over and kissed her softly. At first, Jingyi blinked, unsure just what happened. It was half a day. Half a day of watching Isabel, unable to be on the lookout for those who might harm her.

Half a day was enough, though, to know she wanted to see where things went, and if that was nowhere near Caglait, far be it for Jingyi to disagree.


End file.
